Manchester United have won the last five league games between the sides

The Red Devils are seeking consecutive wins for the first time this season

On Saturday at Craven Cottage Fulham host Manchester United (11am ET, watch live on NBCSN and online via NBC Sports Live Extra) as the West London club look to spring an upset over their illustrious opponents.

Martin Jol‘s men were beaten by Southampton last weekend and put in a real lackluster display. If they’re going to get anything from Saturday’s encounter at the Cottage, they’ll need to be at their very best.

As for United, David Moyes‘ men grabbed a late comeback win against Stoke City with Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez both heading home to save the Red Devils from dropping more points at Old Trafford.

Fulham boss Martin Jol must be feeling the heat after giving himself some breathing space with wins over Crystal Palace and Stoke. However a big loss to United and a poor display will only heap more pressure on the Dutchman, as new American owner Shadid Khan stays ominously quite in the background.

United will have one eye on their Champions League clash against Real Sociedad on Tuesday and may rest a few players, but make no mistake about it, this is a game Moyes can’t afford to lose as his side sit eight points behind Arsenal at the summit.

Martin Jol on United’s struggles: “I think David Moyes is a terrific manager. If you look at the players it’s the same players [as last season], plus Marouane Fellaini. They’ve got all the choices in the world on the flank, they’ve got Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney is back in business, so I think there is no problem over there. He [Moyes] needs probably a couple of weeks to get his own ideas across, like at Everton where he played his own style. It’s a bit different probably from Sir Alex Ferguson but I think there’s no problem there. The only thing is, you need the points, you need results, because I think they are title contenders so for them it’s probably a totally different perspective than for Fulham.”

David Moyes on his sides injury problems easing: “I think both (Vidic and Ferdinand) are very close to full fitness. They showed that in midweek when playing Premier League opposition. They both played for 90 minutes so I can’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be ready to be selected or involved. Van Persie has been fine. He’s trained well and worked quite well this week so hopefully he will be okay. Welbeck has had a bit of fluid on his knee. He’s trained for a few days this week so he’s certainly getting much closer to match fitness but won’t travel to Fulham this weekend.”

Prediction

I am going to shock a few people here and go for a draw. Okay, maybe that won’t surprise you this year with United’s struggles, but the Red Devils should sweep the Cottagers aside. Rooney and RVP are the difference makers, but if they’re having an off day Untied are struggling. Only five different players have scored in the league for United this year, 13 had done so at this point last year. If Fulham can stay solid, they can nick a goal from a set piece or a moment of brilliance from Dimitar Berbatov. This will be a dramatic one down by the River Thames.